One Adventure Too Many

by Marja McGraw

  “He’ll know when he looks at the surveillance. It’s possible they arrived after all of us.”

  “One can always hope,” I said.

  I heard my mother and aunt in the hallway so I walked out and led them into the empty room.

  Pete promptly left.

  “I want you two to stay here for the moment. I’ve got to talk to Zasu and see about leaving. Hopefully no one saw her,” I said.

  “We’ll watch to make sure we’re not followed on our way back to Battle Ground,” my mother said. “I know how to figure out if we have a tail. I’ve practiced at home in Arizona.”

  “You what? Why would you do that?” For just a split

  second I thought she’d gone off the deep end.

  “I’ve been with you on just enough cases to figure things out. Learning to spot a tail is kind of like preventative medicine. Always be prepared.”

  “Oh, I’m sure someone tailed you in Arizona. Good grief! Give me a break.”

  “She’s right, Sandi,” Aunt Martha said. “I’ve watched enough TV shows to know you always…”

  “…have to be prepared,” my mother finished.

  “I’m surprised you two aren’t twins,” I said. “You seem to be on exactly the same wavelength.”

  They both smiled, apparently proud of their connection, even though they bickered frequently.

  “Did you give Officer Henry the information he needed?” I asked.

  “We probably gave him TMI,” Mother said.

  “TMI?” My aunt didn’t understand.

  “Too much information,” my mother explained.

  “Ah. I’ll have to remember that one.” Aunt Martha pulled a small notepad out of her pocket and made a note.

  “My sister is keeping records about this adventure, even though I keep telling her it’s not an adventure.”

  “Then what is it?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “Murder,” Mother replied.

  “You call it what you want, and I’ll call it an adventure. Nothing like this ever happens at The Camp.”

  “The Camp?” I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

  “Griz and I call our home The Camp because of our prepping and trying to stay off the grid.”

  My aunt had met her husband because of a kidnapping case Pete and I had worked. Don Workman, aka Griz, was a retired cop and a private man who lived off the grid for the most part, and who was preparing for any national or international disaster. I was surprised when he and my aunt hooked up, but he said he liked her “moxie.” She thought he was cute and she took a great interest in his lifestyle. They were a good match.

  “Like I said, I want you two to stay here while I talk to Zasu.” I left them comparing notes about watching for a tail.

  I heard my aunt saying, “Since we live the way we do, Griz has been teaching me all kinds of thing about…” That’s all I heard.

  Zasu stood outside the door to Mateo’s room. She smiled at me. “The doctor has high hopes for him,” she said. “His mind is a little fuzzy, but the doctor said that will, or should, improve.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” I replied. “Is the detective talking to him yet?”

  “No, it’s too soon according to the doctor, and like I said, he’s a little confused. He wants to see Sophie, though, and I’d call that a good sign.”

  Redding walked out of the room, nodded at us and joined Pete who was standing farther down the hallway.

  Zasu returned to Mateo’s side and I joined Redding and Pete.

  “His memory is foggy,” Redding was saying. “He knows he witnessed something, but he can’t quite put it all together. Since we believe someone is after him, we’ll keep a watch over him, and they’re moving him to a different room.”

  He turned to me.

  “You need to take Ms. Pitts and leave now.”

  “But she wants to sit with him,” I said.

  “I know, but you have to remember that she could be in danger, too. Take her back to Battle Ground and don’t let anyone know she’s staying with you. Do you think you can keep your mother and aunt quiet, too?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Redding left, but Officer Henry stayed. Just like on TV, he sat on a chair in the hallway.

  I told my mother and aunt that it was time to go and

  asked them to wait in the by the nurse’s desk while I talked to Zasu.

  They approached the cop, and I could see deep suspicion in his eyes. Apparently, they saw it, too.

  “We just wanted to say good-bye and thank you for your patience,” Mother said.

  “We think you’ve got what it takes to be a good copper, uh, police officer,” Aunt Martha added.

  He seemed to relax and he nodded at them, but he didn’t say a word. Maybe he was afraid they’d take a word and run with it.

  In the room I found Zasu sitting by Mateo’s bed. He was asleep, or at least I hoped that’s all it was.

  She put her index finger to her lips to keep me quiet.

  “We have to leave,” I whispered.

  “Now?”

  “Yes. Mateo needs plenty of rest and Detective Redding wants you out of sight. Besides, Sophie must be missing you by now.”

  She stood and leaned over, placing a gentle kiss on Mateo’s forehead. He sighed, but he didn’t wake up.

  With everyone in the hallway, I said, “Okay, Zasu, you go with my mother and aunt. Pete and I will follow at a discreet distance to make sure you’re not followed. Just in case, I want you to leave as though you’re heading away from Battle Ground and when we’re sure you’re safe, you can turn back. Understood?”

  “Of course,” my aunt said. There was an underlying tone that told me she might have wanted to say, ‘Of course, you idiot. We know how to do this.’

  I ignored the tone and gave them directions which would basically take them on a route away from and then back to Battle Ground.

  Pete and I left the building shortly after the other group. They went one way and we went the other, having made a point of parking in different parts of the lot. We didn’t look at them, but as I passed a black SUV I made a point of checking to see if it had a rear license plate. It did, and I relaxed – slightly.

  They pulled up to a signal to leave the hospital. Pete allowed two cars to get behind them before he pulled into line.

  We’d driven about a mile when we saw a black SUV pull in behind them.

  I pointed at the vehicle.

  “I see it,” Pete said. “Check out the back of the car.”

  “No license plate.” My stomach tightened. Somehow they’d connected Zasu to Mateo. It probably wouldn’t have been that difficult.

  “Time to take action,” Pete said, whipping from the left lane into the right lane.

  He sped up until we were next to the SUV, and then he gave it more gas until we were ahead of them. There were about three car lengths between my mother’s car and the SUV until Pete pulled in between them.

  “I’m going to stall them, Sandi, but you’ll have to get out and talk to them. They saw me when we chased them out of the hospital.”

  I nodded, and when I realized he wasn’t looking at me, I said, “Okay.”

  “We need a red light,” he said.

  Miracle of miracles, the next light turned yellow as my mother drove through, and red before we got there.

  Pete turned the key and killed the engine, as though the car had died on its own.

  The light turned green, but we didn’t move.

  He started the car and turned it off again, as though we had engine problems. He repeated his actions.

  The SUV behind us honked.

  Pete stuck his arm out the window, palm up, as though

  there was nothing he could do.

  They honked again.

  I looked over my shoulder and saw that they couldn’t back up and go around us because of the traffic.

  Pete started the car again and revved the engine before he said, “Hold on, and I’m
sorry, Sandi.”

  He shoved the gear shift into Reverse and stepped on the gas. We hit the other car with a bang, and he shut off the engine again.

  I sucked in my breath, surprised by his actions.

  He pulled a lever and the hood was loose.

  “Go talk to them now, while I tinker under the hood.”

  He climbed out of the car and made it a point not to turn his head so they could see his face.

  I jumped out of my side and hurried back to the SUV.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said to the man who rolled down his window.

  I pointed to our car and he followed the direction of my finger. While he was distracted, I took his picture. I hoped it would be clear. Too bad he still had on the baseball cap and sunglasses.

  “My husband is a hothead,” I said. “When he finally got the engine running, he slammed it into gear, accidentally putting it in Reverse. I’ll get my insurance card out of the car and call the police to come take a report. Be right back.”

  “Don’t do that, lady,” he said.

  “Oh, but I must. It’s the law.”

  I turned and headed for the Jeep, but as soon as I was out of the way the two men took advantage of the moment and pulled into the other lane, in front of traffic, and took off.

  I heard a lot of honking and breaks squealing.

  I climbed into the Jeep where Pete joined me.

  “And that’s how you stall someone,” he said, shaking his head.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Knowing that my mother’s car was long gone and finally headed in the right direction, we started the Jeep and pulled into a parking lot to assess the damage to the read end of the car.

  It wasn’t too bad. The bumper was set up so it had a little give to it if something hit it.

  “Don’t worry about the damage,” Pete said. “When we get home, I know a guy who can take care of it.”

  I smiled. “It seems like you know a guy for everything. We make a good team, though. They never saw your face and I had them thinking I was going to call the police to come take an accident report.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said. “Now let’s go home.”

  ~ * ~

  The rest of the day, I hoped, would be surprisingly quiet, and I was thankful.

  Zasu had taken Sophie in the bedroom as soon as they arrived home, according to my mother, and they were taking a nap. I had no doubt that Zasu was exhausted.

  My family and I sat on the front porch while Pete

  walked back to talk to Stanley. He took my phone with him so

  he could show Stanley the picture I’d taken.

  Bubba and Clementine joined us.

  “What took you two so long to get home?” Aunt Martha asked.

  I rolled my eyes and didn’t care if she saw me. “Apparently you two need more lessons about being tailed. Those men started following you shortly after you left the hospital.”

  “No! I would have seen them.” My mother seemed to be embarrassed.

  “What’d you do to keep them away from us?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “We waited for a red light and then Pete killed the engine a few times. They were stuck behind us. Then he started the car, put it in Reverse and hit them. I told them I was going to call the police to come take a report, and they took off, but before they did, I took a picture of the driver. Of course, by that time you were long gone.”

  “No! I’ve got to remember that scenario,” Mother said.

  Aunt Martha pulled her little notebook out of her pocket and started scribbling notes to herself.

  “Trust me, Mom, you’ll never find yourself in that particular situation.”

  “Well, you never know.”

  “Griz and I might need that move if we’re in town when the big one hits.” My aunt continued to make notes.

  “What big one?” Mother asked.

  “You know, the big one. It could be anything from an earthquake to a nuke to an EMP. That’s an Electrical Magnetic Pulse. The whole electrical grid would go out and nothing would work,” she said, for my mother’s benefit.

  “Oh, good grief.” I threw my hands in the air. “Backing into someone wouldn’t do any good in the middle of an earthquake or a nuclear attack. And if it was an EMP, the car wouldn’t run anyway.”

  “Like Livvie said, you never know.”

  “I have a question,” Mother said. “Why is the detective so willing to share his information with you?”

  I glanced at her. “Probably because we’re trying to keep Zasu and her baby safe.”

  “Good answer,” Aunt Martha said.

  A police unit pulled up to the house and Joe climbed out. “Good afternoon, ladies. Staying out of trouble?” He grinned.

  I grimaced.

  My mother motioned for him to join us on the porch. “What brings you here?”

  “Redding called and asked me to keep an eye on things. Is everything okay?”

  My aunt sat up straight. “Unless you count a black SUV trying to follow us home, everything is fine.”

  And Redding wanted me to have my relatives keep their mouths shut? Well, Joe was on our side so I couldn’t get too upset.

  I joined him on the steps. “Walk with me and I’ll tell you what happened.”

  My mother started to stand up. I pointed at her, and spoke to the dog. “Watch her,” I said.

  Bubba followed the direction of my finger and walked over to sit in front of Mother. Sometimes I felt like he really could understand what I said to him, but I doubted it.

  I explained about the SUV, the Jeep and the accident.

  “Pete’s a smart guy,” he said. “I’m not sure I would have thought to do that. So they weren’t able to follow any of you?”

  “No. We’re okay for the time being. I figure they’ll be watching the hospital, though, so we’re really going to have to be careful from now on.”

  “In the meantime, I’ll try to keep an eye on things here. We’re stretched kind of thin this week, but I’ll do what I can.”

  “Thanks, Joe. I appreciate the effort.”

  He left and I rejoined my mother and aunt on the porch. Bubba sauntered over and planted himself in front of the door.

  “Okay, so tell me some of the stories about Gloria and her ghosts,” I said.

  Anything to change the subject. It worked.

  “It’s not ghosts, plural, but one ghost. The problem is there were two women murdered in the area, one in the house and apparently one nearby, and she says she can’t figure out which one is doing the haunting,” my mother said.

  “You realize there is no ghost, don’t you?” I asked. “When we stayed there it turned out there’s a vent or something that noise filters through and it sounds ghostly.”

  “We weren’t aware of that, but…,” mother started.

  “…we’ll keep it in mind,” Aunt Martha finished.

  Mother scooted forward on her chair. “She – Gloria – says she’s seen a figure in the hallway but that it’s not clear enough to know what the woman looks like.”

  Aunt Martha joined in. “She says she can’t even get a good look at the clothes she’s wearing to tell what time period she’s from. One woman was murdered in the thirties, and the other one was killed around the end of the nineteenth century, if I remember what she said correctly.”

  “She said we’ll see the ghost for ourselves soon enough,” my mother said. “She told us to stay on our toes and keep our eyes open.”

  “She has a housekeeper who just closes her eyes briefly and heads the other way when she hears Gloria telling the stories.” My aunt grinned.

  My relatives made me feel the same way as the housekeeper from time to time – like I should close my eyes and head the other way.

  “So have you seen anything?” I asked.

  “Nooo, but there is a framed photo that keeps falling

  over.” Mother flipped her hand in imitation of the fall.

  “I think it just needs a new frame,”
Aunt Martha said. “The whole thing is just silly. She says she hears voices in the night and they keep her awake. Ridiculous.”

  “We’ve never heard voices. Why would the ghost just talk to her?” My mother’s expression was more one of curiosity than belief.

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  “Yes, she says she sees a ‘floaty figure’ walking in the woods. A floaty figure? Pulease!” Aunt Martha sounded disgusted.

  “One of the women’s bodies was buried in the woods,” I said.

  “Oh. Well.” My aunt had nothing else to say.

  “That’s it? She didn’t have any other tales?” I asked.

  My mother picked up the story. “Oh, yes, she has all kinds of stories about things being moved around and – “

  “Phooey. I’m sure things are moved when the housekeeper cleans. That’s all it is.” My aunt is generally a no nonsense type of person. “I’d be more inclined to believe we’ll be hit by a tornado than that there’s a ghost in the house.”

  My mother moved forward even more on her chair. “Enough of ghosts. What about Zasu’s situation? We need to get busy and keep her and Mateo safe.”

  “Mateo isn’t our worry,” I said. “The police will take care of him. Zasu is our charge and we’ll take care of her and Sophie. Keep your eyes open for the black SUV.”

  There must have been something in my tone of voice because Bubba jumped up, as much as a huge dog can jump, and he seemed to be on alert. He started pacing back and forth across the porch with Clem right on his heels.

  We have a privacy hedge in front of the house, but you can still see the street at the end of the driveway.

  There was no SUV, but a beige van drove past very slowly – too slowly. A thought struck me. The SUV didn’t have a rear license plate, but we did. Maybe they took down our license number, or maybe they got the number off of my mother’s car.

  I was going to pull my cell phone out of my pocket, but Pete had taken it with him. Starting to walk down the driveway, I saw them speed off.

  I ran the rest of the way down the driveway to see if I could catch a glimpse of them, but I was too late. The road ran a long way without a turnoff, but they may have turned into someone’s driveway. I couldn’t see them. If they were in someone’s driveway, they’d bide their time and then hotfoot it out of there.